Grand Campaign 2: Isengard Assaults Helm's Deep

The forces of the White Hand make their move on Rohan's famed keep. Can Theoden arrive in time to save the Hornburg?

The Story Up To Now

After a crushing defeat in the First Battle of the Fords of Isen, Grimbold of Grimslade's shattered forces retreat to Helm's Deep to join forces with the Garrison of the Hornburg, lead by the formidable Erkenbrand, Captain of Rohan.

Seizing the advantage of their victory at the river, Mauhur's Marauders and the Army of Dunland press forward and prepare to lay siege to Helm's Deep, reinforced by Saruman's Legion of Isengard, who pour forth from Orthanc to crush the men garrisoning the fortress.

King Theoden of Rohan senses the danger, and sets forth from Edoras with his lieutenants, the Three Hunters, and the wizard Radagast the Golden. The defenders of the Hornburg will have to hold out against the Isengard siege to buy time for the King's arrival. Can they survive the night?

Armies Involved

Forces of Good

Manning the walls of Helm's Deep are the weakened forces of the Garrison of the Ford, and a stout but outnumbered Garrison of the Hornburg.

After their defeat at the ford, Grimbold and company are in a perilous position. They've already lost over half of their troops as casualties, and their heroes cannot risk falling in battle again having lost all of their fate as a consequence of falling in the first battle.

Standing alongside them are Erkenbrand and a strong force of Royal Guard and Rohan Warriors, led by brave Rohan Captains. They will need to be accurate with their many throwing spears to keep the enemy from quickly overwhelming the walls.

Riding to reinforce the Hornburg is King Theoden, leading a mass of cavalry and his strongest lieutenants. Alongside the King is Radagast and the Three Hunters, desperate to play their part in the fate of Middle-earth.

Forces of Evil

Fresh off their victory at the ford, Mauhur's Marauders and the Army of Dunland have maintained much of their strength and only gained in morale. With all their heroes unscathed in the first battle and minimal casualties among the Uruk scouts, the Isengard advance army is as dangerous as ever.

Having amassed a legion of heavily armored Uruks and a treacherous array of siege weapons within the gates of Isengard, Saruman the White has marched forth with legions of Uruk-hai ready to extract brutal vengeance on the hated race of Men.

The Scenario

The Assualt on Helm's Deep is played according to the MESBG Siege rules, with both sides having pools of points to spend on faction Siege Weapons and Siege Equipment.

This is a battle To The Death, with both sides needing to quarter their opponent to claim victory. The Garrison of the Ford and Garrison of the Hornburg begin the battle defending the walls of Helm's Deep, while King Theoden, the Garrison of Edoras, and the Three Hunters can arrive from turn 5 and onwards on a roll of 4+.

The entirety of the forces of Evil will begin the siege on the battlefield, as well as an array of siege weapons requisitioned specifically for this battle. Saruman's furnaces of industry have equipped his troops with 2 Isengard Assault Ballistas, 2 Siege Towers, 2 Demoliton teams, a Battering Ram, and a number of siege ladders.

The defenders of the wall have cobbled together their own siege defenses; on the Deeping Wall are 2 Spiked Barricades, 2 Rally Points, and 3 Rock piles. On the Hornburg is an additional Rock Pile, and suspended over the gate is a scalding hot pot of Boiling Oil.

The Battle

With Erkenbrand and Grimbold's forces spread along the wall wating in nervous anticipation, the onus fell on the White Wizard's forces to make their approach. Two wooden siege towers creak forward, as the hordes of Isengard march ahead to the walls. Mauhur and his Marauder's are given the task of taking the front gates; rushing their battering ram forward at pace.

From the heights of the Hornburg, the Huntsman of the Ford takes aim with his longbow and scores an unexpected wound on Saruman the White, the first blood drawn of the battle. Saruman's own shooting, from his devious ballistae and corps of crossbowmen, pings aimlessly off the battlements in response.

As the ladders and towers creep forward to the Deeping Wall, the shooting battle continues to heat up. The White Wizard, not amused in the slightest by his introduction to the Huntsman, Immobilizes the veteran archer. More than one sharpshooter is manning the walls however, and the Huntsman of the Hornburg spent his considerable might to avenge his comrade and secure another wound on the Istarii. With fate failing to intervene, Saruman has already taken 2 wounds before a single Uruk has reached the wall.

The Uruk crossbowmen and archers continue to unload their ammunition, but the walls of the ancient fortress of men provide valuable protection for it's defenders, preventing most shots from getting through. They can't stop one unlucky Rohan warrior from being impaled by a ballista bolt, however.

Enraged by the second Rohan arrow to find its way into his dazzling robes, Saruman casts a sorcerous blast in the direction of a Royal Guard on the Hornburg, sending the hapless soldier flying off the battlements. His troops are finally dialing their aim; dealing a wound to the Huntsman of the Ford with a crossbow bolt.

With the forces of evil nearly within striking distance of the walls, Rohan's many ranged threats need to secure an effective round of shooting if they hope to delay the advance longer. They get off to a dream start; The Huntsman of the Ford delivers an arrow directly into White Wizard, who manages to tempt fate one last time and avoid taking a wound. His relief is short-lived however, as Elfhelm' superior throwing skills sends a spear into Saruman, and the wizard into the dirt. The Rohan archer line stays focused on the bigger threats, managing to take a point of fate off of Mauhur's Scout Captain near the gate.

The wave of hope that washes over the defenders at the sight of the fallen wizard quickly dissipates as the walls are finally reached by the hordes. Siege ladders begin to clatter onto the Deeping Wall, bringing heavily armoured Uruk-hai Warriors and crazer Berserkers onto the battlements.

With the shooting battle coming to an end and hand-to-hand combat beginning on the wall, a final siege threat still looms. Three bold Uruks have manage to bring a demolition charge to the culvert of the Deeping Wall, preparing to ignite and blow a gap through the stone defenses.

The bomb is successfully lit, and the middle section of the Deeping Wall is blown sky high - as are the three Uruk's tasked on this suicide mission. Fortunately for the defenders, they were able to use their priority to scurry away from the blast radius and protect their dwindling numbers.

As the hordes of Uruks begin the ascent up the ladders, the siege towers finally make contact with the wall, their drawbridges crashing open to reveal the crazed men of Dunland waiting within. Thrydan, Gorulf, and Frida Tallspear charge their troops out into the thin line of defenders before them.

The action is heating up now on the wall, as Rohan forces unengaged in combat scramble to push down the siege ladders in hopes of delaying the Uruk approach. At the gate, Uruk Scouts manage to shoot away the warriors manning the pot of boiling oil, allowing the battering ram precious time to secure the first wound on the gate.

On the walls, the Dunlending heroes make quick work of the defenders before them. Gorulf easily dispatches old man Aldor, while Frida & Thrydan cut down warriors of Rohan with ease. Things are not going as swimmingly for evil on the far end of the Deeping Wall, where the first wave of Uruks coming up the ladder struggle to gain a foothold.

As the next turn begins, the beleaguered defenders look to the east in hopes of reinforcement by their King, but Theoden and his army are yet to arrive. Sensing the Gate is close to giving way and hoping to take advantage of the initiative, Erkenbrand, Elfhelm, and a small retinue of Royal Guard opt to mount their horses, throw open the gates, and attempt to ride out on the Uruk scouts awaiting them. They are assisted by a stream of boiling oil pouring from above, immolating an unlucky Uruk Scout below.

Down the wall, the combats continue to pick up pace and importance. Just east of the bomb blast, a brave Uruk-hai Captain scales the ladder and comes into combat with Grimbold of Grimslade. Summoning his might to out-fight the Captain, the man of Rohan brings down his two-handed axe on the Uruk, only for fate to intervene and spare the attacker's life. Elsewhere, a brave Captain of the Ford attempts to charge into Gorulf, only to be cut down by the dual axes of the wildman hero. The fights are not a total loss for Rohan however, as the Huntsman of the Ford manages to push back a Berserker at the top of a ladder, sending him and an unlucky Uruk below him to their deaths.

As turn 6 dawns, the steady sound of horns and hooves fills the air, as King Theoden arrives from the east to relieve his quickly dwindling defenders. The forces of evil have wisely kept a group of Warg Riders led by Sharku in the vicinity, and quickly counter-charge the reinforcing men.

Responding to the danger of the Rohan cavalry, Isengard sets the sights of their ballistae on the horsemen of Edoras. Flinging their bolts into combats, they manage to defeat multiple Royal Guard before they can cause any chaos.

They are not the only shooting danger present however, as the keen sight of Legolas sees a bomb crew out in the open. Launching a volley of arrows, the Prince of Mirkwood strikes the bomb, causing an early detonation and death for it's crew.

In combat, the Warg Riders do better than expected - dismounting Radagast the Golden and slaying multiple Royal Guard, blunting the danger of the reinforcing movement.

On the walls, the forces of Rohan are falling quickly. Thrydan and Frida manage to clear out most of their section of wall, and Gorulf's crew is quickly overwhelming the defenders above. The Uruk-hai attempting to take the other end of the deeping wall are struggling to gain ground, as a few of them fail to win their combats and fall to their deaths from the top of the ladders.

As the reinforcing party attempts to push inward, they are quickly discovering the danger of the ballistae across the battlefield. Legolas & Gimli are de-horsed by a bolt, severely cutting down their movement threat. Aragorn, Eomer, Gamling, and the King that same fate, moving inwards towards the blasted out wall, using the siege tower to block any ballista from targeting them.

Behind the wall, the Dunlendings and Uruk-hai who had overwhelmed the wall and marched through the bomb blast began to turn around and form ranks in the gap of the Deeping Wall. On the wall itself, things were going bad to worse - the last few remaining warriors of Rohan were quickly overwhelmed, with only a single Captian remaining on the furthest section of the wall. At the gate, Elfhelm and Erkenbrand's charge was unable to break out, as both heroes lost their mounts and found themselves in hand-to-hand combat with Mauhur and the Scout Captain.

Elfhelm became the next hero to fall, losing in combat to Mauhur and suffering a wounding blow, while Erkenbrand and the Scout Captain's fight was inconclusive.

With little time remaining, the Rohan cavalry charge continued to pour across the battlefield, although broken up by repeated ballista hits on mounts and Royal Guard alike. Aragorn and Eomer, backed by Gamling and his Royal Standard, both crashed into the reformed line at the wall, declaring Heroic Combats that would chew through multiple Uruks each. Back at the eastern edge of the board, Sharku and the remaining Warg Riders fell to the combined fighting power of Gimli, Hama, and Radagast.

After Action Report

Final Result:

With the sun setting on the battle (and Reiter's closing for the evening), the result of the battle was very much up in the air. The forces of Evil had breached the fortress, claiming control of the walls and had nearly pushed through the gate, but King Theoden's warband had broken the enemy cavalry resistance, smashed through the enemies at the hole in the Deeping Wall, and were beginning to climb the siege tower to reclaim the wall.

With neither side claiming a complete victory, the battle was determined a draw, with all forces retreating from the smoking ruin of Helm's Deep - Theoden and his forces back to Edoras, and the forces of Isengard back to the Ford of Isen.

Hero Attrition

The Battle of Helm's Deep saw significant action by Heroes on both sides, with a few falling in combat and some falling permanently in the after-action casualty rolls.

Evil saw Saruman the White and two of his Uruk-hai Captains fall in combat, both now entering future battles with no Fate, while the White Wizard loses a point as well.

On the side of Good, Elfhelm and the Huntsman of the Ford are laid to rest among the many men of Rohan who have fought in this war, while Aldor and two heroes of the Hornburg will need to recover from their injuries and fight on with more caution.